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New look and
two new whiskies from Tormore.
Tormore
single malt whisky is not a whisky we
hear malt whisky drinkers mention often,
it is recognised more by whisky drinkers
as a key contributor to the Chivas
Brothers blends such as Ballantine's and
Long John. In
recent years there has only been one official
distillery bottling available to malt
whisky drinkers, the Tormore 12 year old, well that has now
changed. Chivas Brothers has announced
the release of two new small
batch, single malt whiskies from its
Tormore distillery in Speyside and the
two new whiskies will replace the
Tormore 12 year old which has been
discontinued.
They have launched a Tormore 14 Year Old
and Tormore 16 Year Old, both of the new
expressions are produced in limited
quantities from a small number of
carefully-selected casks. The launch of
the two new whiskies coincides with a
new identity for the brand, as it aims
to appeal to the growing number of
discerning whisky drinkers who
appreciate the craft quality and
provenance of Speyside single malt
whisky and it is great to see the Chivas
Brothers sticking to their belief that
"Age Matters" as it seems almost every
new release these days has no age
statement and a premium price.
Chivas tells me that the
Tormore 14 Year Old and Tormore 16 Year
Old have been aged in American oak casks that
demonstrate the distillery’s light,
smooth, and fruity character. They
describe the Tormore 14
Year Old as having a fruity nose that offers
hints of citrus and raspberry, a smooth,
sweet taste featuring liquorice and
ginger, followed by a long, sweet finish
with a spicy tang.
Tormore 16 Year Old, you'll be pleased
to hear is bottled
without chill-filtration to reveal
further layers of complexity, they tell
me that it presents a
well-balanced nose of sweet orange and
barley sugar, a mouth-watering, juicy
taste of ripe melon and pear, with a
long and slightly dry finish.
Although new to the UK market the Tormore 14
Year Old and Tormore 16 Year Old are
currently sold in France, priced at 42€
and 56€ respectively, both are expected
to be rolled out to other countries
throughout 2014. The Tormore 14 Year Old
has already hit the shelves of
The Whisky Exchange priced £48.95
which is a little more than whisky
drinkers are paying in France, I
would imagine the Tormore 16 year old
when it arrives will be a few pounds
more.
The two new bottles come with a new look for Tormore
which includes a
contemporary logo and refreshed
packaging, which highlight the
distillery’s still room and natural
landscape. The whiskies are presented in a
luxury gift box that features the batch
number and the signature of Master
Distiller, Neal Corbett.
A new website (www.tormoredistillery.com)
has also been launched to accompany the
two new whiskies and to enable us malt
whisky enthusiasts to discover the
unique flavour profiles of the two
expressions and to explore the
distillery’s heritage.
Neal Corbett, Master Distiller at
Tormore Distillery, comments: "The
re-design of Tormore and the release of
these handcrafted whiskies herald a new
era for the distillery, which I am proud
to be leading. Tormore 14 Year Old and
16 Year Old showcase the distillery’s
smooth signature style, so we hope that
both Scotch connoisseurs and discerning
drinkers looking to expand their
repertoire will enjoy discovering these
whiskies in the months to come."
I was hoping to have sampled these
before letting you know about them so I
could say whether they are a big
improvement on the underwhelming over
caramelled and now discontinued Tormore
12 year old. I haven't got hold of any
yet but I will certainly let you know
what I think of them when I do get to
taste them, hopefully we have a couple
of quality single malts from a
relatively unexplored distillery to
entertain us Scotch single malt whisky
drinkers, meanwhile the producer's
official tasting notes are below and
they show no indication of the caramel
problem which could be found in the now
discontinued 12 year old.
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